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President-elect Donald Trump intends to name his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to the position of senior adviser to the president, multiple news outlets reported Monday.
Kushner is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka, and he played a critical behind-the-scenes role in Trump’s successful presidential campaign. By naming the real estate and media scion to his White House staff, Trump ensures that Kushner can continue to serve as his counselor and sounding board.
The news that Kushner would have a role in the Trump White House came as little surprise Monday to political observers. Kushner, his wife and their three children recently secured a six-bedroom mansion in Washington’s tony Kalorama neighborhood, sparking rumors that both Kushner and Ivanka Trump would be given official jobs in the White House.
If Trump is serious about hiring his son-in-law to serve in the West Wing, the president-elect will need to tiptoe carefully around a federal law that bars public officials, including the president, from hiring their family members for government jobs. Luckily for Trump, the White House may be one of the few places in government where the nepotism rules do not apply.
The precedent-setting case for this was then-President Bill Clinton’s 1993 decision to name his wife, Hillary Clinton, to run his White House health care task force. When the appointment was challenged on the grounds that it violated the nepotism ban, a federal appeals court ruled that the White House was basically exempt from these rules. This was especially so, wrote the two appellate judges, if the position was unpaid.
It was unclear Monday afternoon whether Kushner would receive a federal salary, effectively forcing taxpayers to pay Trump’s millionaire son-in-law.
A spokesman for the Trump transition did not respond to questions Monday from The Huffington Post about Kushner’s new role. A formal announcement is expected later this week.
Trump will be inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States on Jan. 20.
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